"SHE" COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOD

[sandyj]

OK, A couple questions. My friend, who has chickens, (I won't be getting mine til spring), learned just today, that her barred rock girl, is a boy. He crowed. We are guessing HE is about 24 weeks old. She got this one at a farm store. My thought was, how do you know if the eggs are fertalized? I know there is something about candling, but don't know how. Do you need a special machine for this? Are the eggs edible if fertile? I wouldn't mind trying to hatch a couple eggs if there are chicks inside. How do I know???
sandyj

 

[Tuffoldhen]

It happens!!!! lol Those little old boys sure can fools us!!

You can crack a few eggs into a bowl one at a time and look for the fertile disc that the rooster has been mating with the hens. You would need a hatching incubator for eggs, set a clutch of eggs and candle on day 7 or 10, look for veining and the embryo (dark spot) bouncing in the egg.

Fertile eggs are not any different to eat then unfertile no taste difference at all. The only way to start development for growth is to incubate them in a controlled enviroment.

 

[sandyj]

What does this fertile disc look like? What color is it and how big is it? What do you use to candle. Just a bright light behind the egg?
sandyj

 

[Tuffoldhen]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008

This shows you what a fertile and non-fertile egg look like. Its a white sperm dot disc in the yolk of the egg.

Most people use small mag. flashlights to candling eggs in the bator or there are candlers that you can buy and use. Most places that sell incubators also sell candlers, but a small high powered flashlight works just as well.

 

[TheNewMrsEvans]

I just posted my ducks' fertile egg...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=120339

 

[sandyj]

Another question. How old does the rooster have to be to fertilize the eggs. One of the hens HATE the rooster. She chases him around pecking at him constantly. This has been going on since the very beginning. If she sees he is eating, she will chase him away. How long should we wait to try incubating the eggs?
sandyj

 

[pbjmaker]

It depends on the breed - at 24 weeks he should be able to fertilize the eggs.